A Blurred Reflection

Tag: unfortunate time

  • Less is more (usually)

    I’m preparing myself for a minimalistic future. Something around 90 square feet, if all goes as planned, so needless to say I have some changes to make. Today I took my first step in downsizing. I just chose one clothing item to start with. Dresses. This shouldn’t take long, I thought. I was wrong. That dark, cobweby…

  • That Bum On My Couch

    I was in the second-to-front pew at church the other week, and I was feeling the morning blues. Do you know what I mean? That sandy-eyed, groggy-voiced, brain-not-quite-awake feeling of sluggishness that isn’t really ready for 120 decibels of worship music being emanated directly in front of oneself. Don’t get me wrong, the band was great. I…

  • How to make your way through a crowd of shoppers

    We’ve all been that frizzy-haired, hangry (I.E. angry because of hunger, for those of you not acquainted with aforementioned colloquialism), bone-tired shopper, frustrated with the crowds that malls and department stores attract, and wishing we could afford to patronize small, local shops alone. Maybe these six steps will spur you on to a happier Walmart stride.   I…

  • The Terror That Flieth By Night….

    It was three a.m. and I awoke to purring in the rafters above my bed. If I would have woken up hungry for a snack, it would have been ok, and I would pilfered some cookies and gone back to bed. If it had been a housemate sleep-talking, no big deal. If it had been…

  • Another 8 a.m. lesson

    My friends and I went camping on Assateague Island for my friend’s 21st birthday. We camped in the State Park area, which was blooming with dune goldenrod (which is unusual), and teeming with people (as it is all season). We strolled the beach as the setting sun tainted the cloud-filled sky with a hundred hues, roasted hotdogs over…

  • Jesus was homeless, too.

    I don’t live in the city anymore, but when I did, I never once gave money to sign-holders. I’ve never dropped even so much as a quarter in a Salvation Army bucket. That’s a shame. No, it’s more than that. It’s a complete disgrace. I met a homeless man named Richard LeMieux last week, and if I would have judged…

  • Don’t eat in the shower, kids.

    If you had an awkward week, let me tell you about mine. Maybe it will make you feel better. I had to practice my swimming this week, and this is how it went. I didn’t make my week’s goal. I had to call someone I’d never called before, and I didn’t know his voicemail only lasts…

  • Pain is Holy

    “I was on tour, and a friend who was on tour with me went through a really rough valley. She experienced a miscarriage. I was with her the day after, and I asked her how she was…. what was going on for her inside. She said, “You know, the only words that keep rising up in…

  • My Best Addiction

    Now that you all know I’m addicted to gummy bears….. (and oh happy day, I got a whole 1-lb bag of them for my birthday) I gotta tell ya’ll about my FAVORITE addiction. The one I plug into when I get upset at my boss. Or when I’m preparing to teach. Or when I’m bored by…

  • My Yellow Dress & What Sounded Like A Helicopter

    I was 18, and my first car was a Mercury Sable station wagon. Eggshell-tan, except for where the paint was peeling to reveal a lighter color underneath. Inside, the upholstery was ripped and if you plopped into your seat too hard dust would fall from the exposed and brittle insulation in the ceiling. The license…